Blackajah

Write to your MHK asking for an explanation. Inform them that unless you get one, votes for said MHK will NOT be forthcoming in September (8 months away). Nothing motivates a politician more than the prospect of having his/her snout pulled out of the trough.

It's not anti-government to be anti-some of the really questionable spending decisions they make. £2m on mini buses whilst people are made to wait ever longer on waiting lists for treatment is one I would be questioning. Not taking the advice of a scientist to increase testing for those arriving on the IOM is another. I'm not sure what the cost of the extra testing would be, but I bet it'll be less than the £8-10m Cannan is touting as the cost of MERA. I hope all those who are getting shafted now will remember this when election time draws near.

Without being a liberty to go into details, I can confirm that the ITU capacity was expanded beyond 6 in April, and if you remember, the Rob Vine organisation loaned their portable respirators to the hospital in case they were needed. Wrighty is also correct in that the capacity can be extended to include the theatre recovery beds. Staffing is more of an issue unfortunately.

Maybe they should be glad they’re not being questioned by Jeremy Paxman!

Exactly this. Why did they ignore the advice? Whose decision was it? I keep banging on about it I know, but I would really, genuinely like to know what the reasoning can possibly have been.

Just take care if you’re bringing a taser.

Candidates who are less arrogant, entitled, shortsighted, but who are willing to listen to ALL instead of civil servants with their own agendas. Also candidates who understand that being honest with the public doesn’t make them appear weak, as HQ and his ilk seem to think. Oh yes, & candidates who follow more progressive policies than we have at present.

Exactly this. Come September, vote them OUT!

Yes, and we need to take a really good look at them all come election time. #Votethemout.

This is what should be worrying people - that checks are apparently NOT being carried out. If anything will result in covid escaping into the community here, it's this - well in addition to people breaking quarantine in the first place Is everyone quarantining supposed to be checked up on randomly, or just some of them?

Let's hope our border force peeps are up to the job then and that absolutely everyone is being checked regularly.

Colour me cynical but I'd like to know where we're up to vaccine-wise, otherwise I'll start thinking that certain MHKs want us trapped here for ever, unable to shop, stay or visit anywhere not Manx.

The cynic in you is alive and well in the rest of us too... Or it should be.

Would it not make more sense to vaccinate some people in the younger, more mobile age groups as these are more likely (?less likely if vaccinated) to spread C-19, in addition to the older age groups?

The IOM has long been touted as a 'desirable' place to retire, hence an influx of retirees. It's not just a health/social care resource problem or one of not being economically active. Pandering to this age group inhibits more progressive policies from being formulated because politicians are wary of losing votes. The IOM isn't geared towards young people and never has been.

There are some absolute spanners on Facebook - even more so than usual. It's almost entertaining reading some of the utter crap being spouted.

That should keep some of the anti-vax/flat earth/5G/tin foil hat brigade out at least.

There's an election in 10 months' time. No MHK will make any suggestion for fear of having their snouts pulled from the trough in September. This may mean a VERY long delay before we can travel to and from the IOM freely.

I'm wondering whether the Govt (here and/or the UK) has a plan to deal with the anti-vax lunatics if (and it is IF, not WHEN) a vaccine is available. Will there be / are there people who might be unable to have a vaccine because of pre-existing health conditions? If so, how can these people be protected from those who refuse all vaccines (because it's Bill Gates/DNA alteration/5G etc?

Since March, there surely has been ample time for the govt to come up with a strategy for dealing with a community outbreak - ie hopefully, test, trace, lockdown the care/nursing homes in terms of staff and visitors. So if we do get a few cases, it should be possible to manage without a full lockdown. Perhaps some thought should be given to what happens if no vaccine is available. How long do we expect the borders to stay closed/restricted? 1 year, 5? 10?

Those seeking re-election. Well, that's the issue isn't it? Too terrified of the paranoid and the hysterical social media Hitlers to even consider an alternative border policy to 'keep em out'. As has been said before, when did we move from protecting hospital resources to 'noone must get covid - ever?' God forbid anyone is removed from the trough for actually making a decision!

I wonder if the powers that be have a plan to deal with the anti-vaxxers if/when a vaccine is rolled out?

I remember the Dogs Home with great affection. Had some brilliant times there in the 70s and early 80s, so that's great news and will definitely check it out when it opens. Happy days!